Under the Sapphire Moon
by Rayven Darkheart
Summary: Remus has to live his life dealing with his monthly transformations. What if there was another? What if there was a secret prophecy? RLOC SBOC
1. Prologue

**Under the Sapphire Moon  
**_By Rayven Darkheart_

Disclaimer: I own nothing but my OCs.

Prologue

* * *

"Moony, will you hurry your ass up, please? We've got places to see, people to do." Frustrated, Sirius finally went and grabbed his friend's arm. "My Merlin Moony! Only you would be mesmerized by a book."

Moony looked at his friend with a frown. "Padfoot, what do you want? What's the harm in looking around the store before we leave? Besides, Prongs is still looking at his school books."

Grumbling something under his breath, Sirius strolled over to his friend, James. He tapped him on his shoulder, getting ready to whine about being in the bookstore so long when James grabbed the books he purchased off of the counter. "Ready to go?"

Sirius jumped up and down in glee, like a child, and ran out of the store. Remus shook his head at his friend and gathered his things. "Sometimes I wonder how old Paddy really is."

James let out a hearty laugh and slapped his friend on the shoulder. "He's just not the academic type. Don't mind him."

Remus shook his head again and grabbed his books. "Prongs, I can't really see. Let me know if anyone is ahead of me." James nodded in agreement and started out.

Moony followed slowly, expecting to hear any moment that he was going to run into someone. James's warning came too late and he ran head on into someone, knocking everything out of his and their hands.

Mumbling his apologies, he reached down to pick up his things and bumped into the other person's hand, a very feminine hand. He stopped what he was doing and looked up. What he saw almost took his breath away. Kneeling in front of him was one of the most beautiful girls he had ever seen. Her skin was pale and set off by the darkest onyx hair he had ever seen. Her delicate features seemed to hide something behind them, a depth that most his age did not hold. Her cerulean eyes scanned his tawny ones and a stain of red fell upon her high cheekbones.

He thought he had somehow died and gone to heaven when his angel spoke. "I'm so sorry. I wasn't looking where I was going. Here are your things."

She handed his books and new robe to him with a shy smile. He murmured thanks. Then he noticed it. She was wearing a necklace. One that looked familiar. She saw him looking at her throat and covered the necklace with her hand. "I need to go. Perhaps I'll see you around." She got up quickly and ran off.

Sirius walked up to his friend and offered him a hand up. "What the hell was that all about Moony? I've never seen a girl run off so quickly."

"I wish I knew Padfoot. I really wish I knew."

* * *

Peter Pettigrew ran up to his three larger friends in a huff. James gave him a strange look and patted his shoulder gently. "What's wrong, Wormtail? Is there a cat after you?" All of the friends gave a hearty laugh.

Except Peter that is. "Prongs, there's a… _girl_ in our usual compartment. I've never even seen her before. What are we going to do about it?"

Sirius looked up with a grin and started toward their compartment. "Watch and learn." The other boys looked at each other before following their companion. Sirius walked right into the compartment and sat right beside the girl that Peter had such a fit about.

Remus watched his friend through the glass of the door along with James and Peter. They stayed out of sight from the inside. His breath hitched when he realized that it was the Angel from Diagon Alley. He watched his friend, slightly jealous that she seemed to laugh so easily at his jokes.

Sirius turned around and waved the guys in. One by one, they filed in. Remus sat across from the girl and gave her a shy smile. She returned it as Sirius gave out introductions. "I would like you to meet James Potter, Peter Pettigrew, and Remus Lupin. Guys, this is Ebony Masters. She's new at Hogwarts this year."

She smiled at each of them in turn. After a long silence, James broke the silence. "What brings you to Hogwarts, Ebony?"

She seemed to squirm a bit but quickly answered. "I was schooled at home before now. I, um, lost that chance this year." Noticing her discomfort, the subject was quickly dropped for a different one.

Remus looked over at James. "Prongs, what did Dumbledore want to talk to you about over the summer?"

James gave Ebony a knowing look that made her twitch. He cleared his throat a bit. "He wanted to talk to me about a _howling_ good time." He looked over at Remus and winked slightly, making it clear that he would tell him about it later.

At the word howling, Ebony's hand flew up to her neck, a gesture that did not escape Sirius's notice. He made a mental note to watch her closely for a bit. "James, Ebony here is bunking with Lily. Isn't that great?"

James gave his best friend a dirty look. "Who says it matters who Evans is bunking with? She'll be mine this year. She can't resist my charm for ever, can she?"

Ebony spoke up. "It sounds to me like you aren't sure if she can or not."

The dirty look that James had been shooting Sirius soon turned to Ebony. "We shall see. I'll have her. You all can bugger off. You'll see."


	2. Chapter One

**Under the Sapphire Moon  
**_By Rayven Darkheart_

Disclaimer: See the Prologue.

Chapter One

* * *

The first meal in the Great Hall went off with very little commotion. The Marauders had yet to start their pranks. Some of the Slytherins were worried to see the four of them sitting together calmly; they actually left dinner early for the dungeons.

Sirius and Remus flopped down on the sofa in the center of the common room and were talking quietly. James was staring dreamily at Lily who was talking to Ebony. Suddenly Lily jumped up and grabbed her new friend, dragging her behind her and into their dormitory. James sighed and sulked over to his friends. Jumping over the back of the sofa, he landed right on Sirius.

"Hey! Get off me wanker." Looking at his friend for a moment before pushing him off on the floor, he sighed. "What's wrong now, Prongs? Has Lily off and went lesbian on you?"

Remus tried to conceal his sniggers as he watched James try to beat Sirius to an inch of his life. Clearing his throat, he tried to separate James and Sirius. "Hey, wasn't there something you wished to tell me? Something about 'a howling good time.' Care to explain?"

James stopped play wrestling and looked around the room to make sure there was no one listening or watching. "Okay, check this out. Apparently, there is a student that has the same problem you do Moony. He didn't say who, but he wanted to make me aware, you know, since we are with you on your nights. We don't want any nasty surprises."

Remus's eyes grew wider with each passing moment. _'There's another werewolf at Hogwarts?'_ He shook his head to clear it. "Who could it be? Do you think it's the new girl?"

James shook his head slightly. "I don't think so. I didn't get the vibe that she's hiding something, did you?" Both Remus and Sirius shook their heads. "Alright then. I doubt it's a girl. Watch it be Snivellus. He'd love to transform right in the castle and kill people." All three of them laughed slightly at the thought of a greasy werewolf, but were shook at the thought that he may be dangerous.

* * *

Lily flopped down on her bed as Ebony sat beside her. "So what did we need to talk about?"

Ebony studied the girl in front of her carefully before saying anything. "Can I trust you to keep this between us and not tell anyone?" She watched Lily nod. "Fine. Just…please don't be afraid after I tell you this."

Lily watched her friend go through about twenty different emotions, all of them mirrored in her clear cerulean eyes. "Ebony, you can tell me. We're roommates. You can trust me."

Ebony took one last deep breath. "Lily, I'm a werewolf. Plain, simple and to the point." She watched Lily's eyes widen and her body stiffen a bit. "I knew I shouldn't have told you about it."

Lily leaned forward and hugged her. "Honey, don't worry about it. I'm not going to judge you. Just… what happens on the full moon?"

"Well, I transform. I become a wolf. I'm aware of my actions though, because of this." She reached down the front of her shirt and pulled out the charm that hung from the leather cord around her neck. "This keeps my mind in tact. I can recognize people and won't attack them."

Lily reached out to touch it. Ebony started to pull back but let her see the charm. She almost recoiled at the feel of the charm. She had expected it to be metal, but it felt… different. Her gaze met Ebony's as if asking what the charm was.

Ebony smiled slightly, almost understanding. "That, Lily, is a tooth from the very werewolf that attacked me. Somehow my father managed to get one. I'm not sure how he knew it would work, but it does. That's why I home schooled. My parents knew the prejudice I would face."

Lily hugged her once more.

* * *

The head of James snapped up when he heard Lily and Ebony come down the stairs. "Evans, there you are. I've missed you."

Lily stopped at the bottom of the stairs and blinked at the boy in front of her. The smile melted from her face. "Shouldn't you be out torturing the innocent and pranking the corrupt?"

Ebony watched the interaction between the two with little interest. _'I see these two will make for an entertaining year if nothing else.'_ She was about to break up the little verbal scuffle when she felt a strong masculine hand grip her forearm gently and pull.

Feeling little resistance, Sirius tugged Ebony up toward the boys' dormitory. Once inside the room belonging to James, Peter, Remus and himself, he opened the door and waited for her to enter. Searching his eyes for some explanation, she entered the room and took a seat on Sirius's trunk. Getting tired of waiting for some semblance of meaning, she grumbled. "Well? Why did you pull me all the way up here?"

"I want your help with something." He sat down beside her. "There's this girl. She's in Slytherin and I want to date her. However, she doesn't see me as the right type of guy. She thinks I can't be sweet and loving. So, um, help."

She tried not to giggle. "What do you want me to do about it? From what I've been told a Gryffindor is not exactly going to be the first person a Slytherin asks for advice. I mean what do you… Oh. Oh no, no, no. You don't want me to pretend to date you…"

He looked at her with pleading grey eyes. "Please. It'll only be outside these doors and only until she sees how good I can be." Sighing with frustration, she nodded. "Great! You're the best Ebony!" He hugged her tightly and smiled. _'This may be easier than I thought.'_

"I'll help you on one condition, Black. You help me get Potter and Evans together." Sirius looked into Ebony's bright eyes suddenly at her stern tone. "Don't look at me like that. You know James likes her. I happen to know that Lily likes him. You can hear it in her voice. The way she argues with him. If a girl really despised someone as much as she supposedly does him, she would simply ignore him, not bicker with him."

Sirius's eyes lit up. "You're on Masters. You help me and I'll help you. Deal?" Ebony held out her right hand and he shook it with his own.

* * *

**A few hours later**

Ebony walked into the library to find Remus asleep. Smiling just slightly, she sat down beside him and looked at the book he was reading. Her smile soon turned into a frown. _'Does he know what I am?' _Swallowing hard, she read some of what was written on the page next to his drooling face.

It read:

_Lycanthropy, much like vampirism is transferred from a bite from an affected individual. As of yet, there is no cure. Individuals stricken with this terrible disease can expect a painful transformation into a wolf on the sight of the full moon each month. _

_Those that come into contact with a werewolf must take tremendous caution. Lycanthropes are extremely dangerous when transformed. They are unpredictable and dangerous. When under the influence of the moon, they will not differentiate between friend or foe and are quick to attack._

Ebony swallowed hard again and looked at Remus's peaceful face. With a trembling hand, she shook his shoulder, waking him up. His eyes met with hers for a moment before she ran out of the library. Looking down, his eyes widened once he saw what page he was open to. _'Oh no, she knows what I am…'_


	3. Chapter Two

**Under the Sapphire Moon  
**_By Rayven Darkheart_

Chapter Two

* * *

"Lily! I need to talk to you, now!" Sirius looked up as Ebony came busting through the fat lady's portrait. Her eyes widened in shock when she saw that the only person in the room was a friend of the boy who knew what she was. "Where's Lily?"

Sirius shrugged and looked back at his book. "Not sure. I think she went off with one of your roommates. Something I can help you with?" Ebony shook her head and started to walk out of the common room before Sirius stopped her. "Wait. Dinner's soon and I wondered if you wanted to start working on my plan."

Ebony gazed at the fire for a minute, contemplating. _'Maybe Remus hasn't had a chance to tell him. Maybe he won't tell him.'_ "Yeah, sure Sirius. I need to talk to Lily first."

"Talk to me about what?" Ebony jumped and turned around, staring into jade eyes. "What's going on, Ebony? You look like you've seen a ghost." Lily let out a screech of surprise as the dark haired girl pulled her toward the steps of the girls' dormitory.

Growling a bit, Ebony let Lily's hand go and stared hard at her. "You swore to me that you would tell no one my secret. Now Remus knows. How do you suppose that happened?" Her cerulean eyes seemed as cold and hard as diamonds.

Lily held her hands up. "I didn't tell anyone. What makes you think that I would do that?"

"I went to find Remus to ask him if he would be willing to help me with my Defense Against the Dark Arts assignment and he was asleep. I looked at his book and guess what it was about." Lily physically shivered under her roommate's shadowed gaze. "It hasn't even been a month. The full moon isn't even for another week."

Lily shook her head sadly. "I swear on Merlin that I didn't tell him. He did ask for extra credit in Care for Magical Creatures. I bet he was doing research." Her eyes met her friend's eyes and saw the hard sapphires turn into their normal soft blue hue. What she noticed more than anything was that Ebony's eyes were slowly filling with tears. She wrapped her arms around the weepy girl to comfort her.

* * *

Remus stormed into the common room. Sirius looked up and frowned. "What is it with people running in here like the world is about to end?"

Sirius's eyes widened and his heart seemed to stop with Remus's words. "Ebony knows."

Sirius jumped up from his seat and grabbed Remus before running up to their room. James, who had been sleeping, looked up at the two intruders and blinked away the sleep. "Wha- Huh? Why are you guys acting like Snivellus just hit on you or something?"

"Ebony knows about Remus." Sirius sat down heavily beside a wide eyed James. "Now we just need to find out how she knows."

Remus raised his hand slowly. "I know how she knows." He watched his friends look at him in surprise. "I was looking in the new addition to the Magical and Dangerous Creatures encyclopedia. You know, to see if they had come up with anything new to treat my" he stopped and looked down before whispering the last word, "problem."

James started slowly, as if he was talking to a small child, or a slow adult. "Moony, mate, what does that have to do with Ebony?"

"Prongs, she saw! I fell asleep with the book open to the entry on werewolves. She woke me up and looked like she was ready to be in tears before she ran off as fast as she could. I thought she was going to knock Padfoot's younger brother over." Remus flopped down on his bed and groaned. "I-I'm not sure what to do." _'I think I would've told her eventually.'_

Sirius took the lead. "Okay, so she's not sure what to think. You're used to people not understanding. How about this? Pretend it never happened. If she avoids you, give her space. If she speaks to you, be kind. Don't bring it up. Who's to say things won't smooth over?" He jumped on top of his lycanthrope friend and poked him in the ribs. "Everything will be fine, Moony."

* * *

The boys came out to find a sullen looking Lily and Ebony who looked as if she were still a bit weepy. Remus frowned and looked at the floor with interest. _'Those tears are my fault. She's afraid of me.'_

Sirius stepped on Remus's foot and pointed at Ebony. Remus looked up at her to see her with a soft, understanding smile on her face. He returned the smile with one of his own. Clearing her throat softly, she looked at Sirius. "Well, shall we go to lunch?"

Sirius smiled brightly and reached forward to grab her hand. No one noticed when Remus flinched a bit and looked down. Ebony was pulled from her seat easily. Sirius wrapped his arm around her shoulders as they started out toward the great hall, leaving a saddened Remus, a mystified Lily and a grinning James.

* * *

The buzz of the students in the great hall suddenly stopped as the Marauders, Lily, and Ebony walked in. There were a few whispers from some of the girls about Sirius and his arm. No one had ever seen Sirius show any affection to a girl in public, that is unless he was kissing her senseless or groping her.

Remus picked up little tidbits of conversation with his sensitive hearing. _"What makes her so special?" "He was never like that with me." "Hey, Sirius is actually with a girl that is dressed. Surprising." _Remus shook his head a little sadly. _'Why does it have to be that girl though?'_

To his surprise and secret delight, Ebony sat next to him. He almost had a heart attack when she kindly patted his shoulder. "You all right, Remus? You've been really quiet since…" She glanced down, a soft blush appearing on her delicate cheek bones.

"I'm fine. I just haven't been feeling so well. I mean, I'm sure you know what next week is." Ebony's eyes grew wide and before anyone could stop her, she ran out of the room and toward the Grand Staircase. _'I messed up this time…'_

Sirius started to get up to go after her, but he noticed that Lily had already gone. He sat back down and leaned closer to Remus. "What was that all about, mate?"

Remus shrugged and suddenly became very interested in his food. "I don't know. She knows about me, yet when I mentioned it, she ran off. That's going to make DADA quite interesting next period. She sits next to me."

Peter perked up beside James. "You can trade seats with me. I don't want to sit next to Snape and you don't want to talk to her. It's a fair trade, right?" His smile widened when Remus nodded in agreement. "Good, it's settled then."

* * *

Lily walked into the common room to find Ebony curled up on the sofa, gazing blankly at a book. "Ebony?" The girl didn't answer her so Lily walked forward and picked up the book that seemed to hold her attention.

It turned out to be a copy of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. A soft, heartbroken voice startled Lily. "Read what it says. Please."

Lily looked down and found:

_Werewolves-_

_This creature is a human afflicted with the disease of lycanthropy, which is contracted via the bite of another Werewolf. Anyone who has this disease will be normal for the majority of the time. At each full moon, however, they will transform into a ravenous psychopathic wolf-maniac which actively seeks out humans to kill. When the full moon has passed, the affected person returns to normal. _

A heart wrenching sob filled Lily's ears suddenly. "See? How could anyone trust someone like me? Remus doesn't know about my charm. He only knows what he reads in books. What am I supposed to do?"

Lily dropped the book and wrapped her arms around her roommate. "Ebony, Remus has always been very levelheaded. Ever since first year when all of the other students were looking around wide eyed with excitement, he took everything in stride. I can't see how this would throw him. Give him time."

Ebony whimpered slightly, sounding almost like a lost puppy. "Thanks, Lily. All I can say is this is going to make DADA rather interesting for a while."


	4. Chapter Three

**Under the Sapphire Moon  
**_By Rayven Darkheart_

Chapter Three

* * *

Ebony walked into the DADA classroom just in time to see Peter sit in Remus's usual seat and Remus sit next to Severus Snape. Sighing sadly, she sat down beside Peter and stared straight ahead at the blackboard. Peter tapped her arm softly, and she slowly turned her cerulean eyes to him. "Did you hear that we're dueling today?"

Ebony spared a glance toward Remus and saw him with his nose buried in a book. _'So like him, the ever charming bookworm.'_ She turned her attention back to the person beside her. "No, where'd you hear that?"

Peter opened his mouth to answer when their teacher walked in. "Well, I see Mr. Pettigrew has already told half of the class today. Yes, today we are dueling with each other. However, since this is the first time for a new tradition for your year, it will not be Gryffindor vs. Slytherin. Quite the contrary, Gryffindors pair up with Gryffindors. Slytherins with Slytherins. Now."

The next few minutes were full of the shuffling of feet as everyone rushed to grab a partner. When all was said and done, much to their dismay, Remus and Ebony were paired together. Sighing softly, Ebony moved over beside Remus. The person who stood beside Remus started chuckling. "I knew you were a bookworm Lupin, but I thought you at least knew enough about women that you wouldn't blush when one was next to you."

Ebony's eyes narrowed with rage and before Remus could stop her, she pushed passed both Remus and Severus and stood in front of a tall blonde boy. From her diminutive stature, she had to look up to glare at him properly. Cerulean orbs met steel grey ones. "Hold your tongue before I remove it for you."

The blonde boy chuckled and grabbed Ebony's hand before kissing it. "Such a fiery temper for a Gryffindor. Perhaps that old hat was wrong. You should be in Slytherin." He grinned as she yanked her hand out of his grasp. "I'm Lucius Malfoy. And you are?"

Remus found his voice and though his answer was quiet, the threat was less than well concealed. "She's way out of your league, Malfoy." He grabbed Ebony's hand softly and guided her back to his side, the one farthest away from the now glowering Lucius. Before letting go, Ebony gazed into Remus's warm eyes and gave him a thankful smile with a small squeeze of the hand.

* * *

The students filed into the Great Hall and told to line up by one of the tables that had been transfigured into a dueling platform. Some other students including James, Lily, and Sirius filed in to watch the duels.

The students waited for their turn, some cheering on their friends. Finally it was Remus and Ebony. James and Sirius weren't sure who they were supposed to cheer for so James settled for Remus and Sirius cheered for his "new girl."

Remus and Ebony got into a dueling position. Waiting for their DADA professor to give them the signal, they both threw their charms. Ebony's charm hit first. "Confundus!"

Remus looked around, very confused about what he was doing there on top of a table at the same time that Ebony's wand flew from her hand because of Remus's banishing curse. As the DADA professor unconfused Remus, Ebony muttered "Accio wand." She gave Sirius a wink and smiled before looking with sympathy at her opponent.

"Very good, Miss Masters. Best two out of three will win if Mr. Lupin agrees to another duel?" Remus nodded slowly and beamed at her.

They got into position again. Just as Remus shouted his expelliarmus charm and Ebony gave her stupefy charm, someone said one word that changed the tone of the day, "Crucio."

Ebony dropped to her knees, screaming in pain. She felt as if every muscle in her body was on fire. Sirius, James, and Lily ran forward and kneeled by her, trying to find out just what was wrong with her. Professor Dumbledore hurried to the trembling girl's side and looked into her teary eyes. "Someone summon Madam Pomfrey immediately." He pointed at a wide eyed Lucius Malfoy. "You, go, now."

The blonde boy nodded dumbly and took off at a dead run toward the hospital wing. Dumbledore picked the girl up and started off after him just as the girl passed out from the pain. Remus, now having been relieved from Ebony's curse ran after Dumbledore, along with Sirius. Everyone else stood there, dumbstruck until the professors made them all go back to their common rooms.

* * *

Sirius entered the common room silently and looked around at his fellow Gryffindors grimly. James stood ready to help Sirius to the sofa, but a raised hand stopped him. Lily scooted over and Sirius sat down heavily. "She was cursed during the duel. It wasn't Remus, but he blames himself. He's just sitting there, holding her hand, talking to her."

James glanced at the floor as he began to question his best friend. "Does Dumbledore know who did it?" His answer was a shake of the head. "Will she be okay?" This time he got a nod. "Better question mate: how are we going to get Moony away from her for his _howling_ good time?"

Sirius gazed up at him. His usually cheerful eyes were solemn, cold. "I don't know James. Pray for the answer to come to us.

* * *

A fireplace suddenly glowed an unearthly green as a head popped out of the flames. "My Lord, I have news for you about the fleabag, Lupin."

A dark haired man turned in his chair and stared into the fire, petting a hissing snake. "Easy Nagini, we'll feed you soon. What news is there?" The snake turned its beady eyes on the intruder, and the dark man laughed with glee at the fear in his eyes.

"My Lord, Lupin is still not letting himself be drawn onto our side. He even has a love interest." The person shuddered at the look of boredom that crossed Voldemort's face. "I have a plan to use her, my Lord. Just today I put the torturing curse upon her. Have faith. Remus Lupin will be coming to our side soon enough."

Voldemort seemed to accept this for a moment, speaking to Nagini in that hissing language that almost no one understood. "Very well, I shall give you some time. You know what the penalty for failing me is. Don't screw up." Voldemort watched the head disappear before speaking to Nagini again. "Soon my pet, soon we shall have the lycan under our control.


	5. Chapter Four

**Under the Sapphire Moon  
**_By Rayven Darkheart_

Chapter Four

* * *

Night turned into day and day started to wane. Sirius and James had tried to get Remus to leave Ebony's side all day. Professor Dumbledore had excused him from his classes for the day so he could stay with her.

Sirius walked in and tried one last time, hoping against hope that Remus would come to his senses. He patted Remus's right shoulder, watching Ebony lie in the bed. "How is she, mate?"

"She wakes up now and then. She wants to be put back to sleep almost immediately. I don't understand this. She should be over the affects by now. She's so weak." He stroked the onyx hair away from her pale face and chuckled despite himself. "She's probably as weak as I am today."

Sirius cleared his throat gently. "Listen, about that, you need to go to the Shrieking Shack now. You'll do her no good here. You know what could happen." His eyes never met Remus's. "You could… attack her. You know you have no idea what you're doing."

Remus gave him a sharp look before kissing the back of Ebony's hand. "You're right, unfortunately. We're going to go just like always. I just need a few more minutes with her." Sirius nodded and walked out quietly. Remus then turned his attention to the girl lying in the bed. "Okay Ebony, I need to leave. I'll be here first thing in the morning, I promise.

As Remus stood and walked away from her bed, Ebony opened her eyes and stared after him. _'For someone that is uncomfortable with me because of my problem, he's certainly hesitant to leave me.'_ She looked outside at the slowly darkening sky as she heard feminine footsteps fall behind her. "Madam Pomfrey, I'm fine. I need to leave in a few minutes however."

"It's Lily. I figured you'd want someone to help you get out." Ebony turned around to the girl standing at the end of her bed. Lily caught the skeptical look in her eyes. "I won't stick around for the transformation if you don't want me to. I just think there's going to need to be an explanation about why there's a huge wolf running around at Hogwarts."

Still incredulous, Ebony looked back out at the blackening sky and winced as she felt the first pains of her transformation. "Fine, we need to leave though, now." She got out of the bed and walked briskly toward the exit of the hospital ward, followed closely by Lily.

* * *

Remus pulled hard at one of the chains that held his wrist. "Are you guys sure this is going to hold? I'm not so sure myself…"

James slapped him on the back. "They'll be fine. We just need to make sure you're secure so we can look for that other werewolf. We want to leave Peter with you and I don't think a rat cat do much to you, right?" Remus nodded in return, sinking back against the chair he was chained to. "Besides, Padfoot thought you could use some kink in your life."

The other boys all laughed at the look on Remus's face. Sirius noticed the pained look on his friend's face and poked James. "Prongs, it's about time. If we're going to go find this wolfie person, now would be the time." James looked to Remus and watched him nod. Turning into the famed stag, he looked at his friends and trotted out of the shrieking shack, with a grim looking dog behind him. They both stopped short when they heard not one, but two twin screams of agony.

* * *

Ebony led Lily farther into the Forbidden Forest. "Are you really sure we should be out here?" Lily's green eyes seemed three times their usual size. "Dumbledore always makes a big stink about not being out here and this year it seemed worse."

Ebony stopped and looked at her roommate. "Why, pray tell, would you think that is?" Ebony's cerulean eyes closed as she tried to control a shudder of pain. The blue orbs only opened again when Lily made a sound of understanding. "That's right. Dumbledore told me to come out here until my transformation was complete. He doesn't want another student stumbling upon me just in case they know what I am."

Lily's eyes widened again in recognition of her situation. "Ebony, are you sure that charm of yours works?" The girl chuckled softly before shuddering in pain again. "I suppose if anyone were to know, you'd be the one, wouldn't you?" The dark girl beside her nodded in agreement. "Do you want me to leave you for the transformation?"

The girl shuddered again and groaned in pain. "No time, just stand back… Try not to be scared." Ebony's words were suddenly lost in a growl.

Lily watched in horror as Ebony's straight white teeth grew into fangs. Her normally feminine face suddenly lengthened into a wolf's muzzle and was slowly covered in black hair. With a scream of pain, Ebony's legs and arms morphed into the legs of a wolf, also covered in the same onyx hair. Lily couldn't stand to watch the rest. Closing her eyes, she could only listen to her friend's painful groans and screams.

The sounds came to an abrupt stop. Lily's eyes snapped open as she felt a soft, warm muzzle brush against her cheek followed by a gentle whimper. She blinked several times, trying to believe what was in front of her. Her once statuesque roommate had been replaced with an onyx she wolf.

The wolf approached Lily carefully, as if to keep from frightening her. Lily gazed into the wolf's eyes and saw the same emotion filled cerulean eyes that had once belonged to Ebony. "Is it really you, or did the big bad wolf eat you?"

Flicking her ears back, the wolf pounced on the red headed girl, causing her to shriek. Instead of the deadly teeth that she was expecting, Lily was met with an affectionate nuzzle before the creature hopped off of her. "I guess it really is you. I suppose I should get back to the Gryffindor room, right?"

As if in answer, the she wolf grabbed Lily's robes gently with her teeth and started leading her toward the tree line. "All right Ebony, I get the picture. I'll see you in the morning." Lily moved away from Ebony and walked toward the clearing.

As soon as she left her eyesight, Ebony sat and stared out at the Forbidden Forest, wondering what she could do to occupy her time. She heard the howl of another wolf. _'Too bad you're always a wolf, friend. You could never understand what it's like to be human for most of the month.'_

Just as she was about to head off into the trees to find the wolf that had howled she heard a snarl and a girl scream. Turning her head sharply, she followed the sound with her ears and suddenly realized just where the sound came from. _'Lily!'

* * *

_

Sirius ran as quickly as he could, knocking over the stag in front of him. _'Come on Prongs, I'm bored. Can't we find something better to do than look for a damn wolf?'_

Untangling his legs, he head butted the dog with one of his horns gently. _'This is important. Remus could be blamed for what this one is doing if something should happen, you know that.'_

Sirius grabbed James's horn with his teeth and was just about to answer when they heard a girl scream. He let go as if he had been shocked with electricity. _'You don't think…'_

Both of them took off as quickly as their legs could carry them. They cleared the last of the trees just in time to see Lily knocked to the ground. Just as she was about to get up again, she was knocked back over by a wolf, but not just any wolf. _'Remus, no!'_


	6. Chapter Five

**Under the Sapphire Moon  
**_By Rayven Darkheart_

Chapter Five

* * *

Sirius, being the quicker of the two took off toward his lycan friend and the helpless girl. _'I'm not going to make it. There will be three lycans at Hogwarts.' _Just as he saw his friend start to pounce on Lily, a petite onyx wolf came out of nowhere and slammed into the pouncing wolf, getting him off course.

Both wolves landed with a thud before they rolled a few times. Ebony shook her head, trying to get her wits when she heard a snarl. Looking over her shoulder, she saw the larger wolf ready to attack her. _'You want to play? So be it.'_ She got back on all four feet and stood her ground, braced for an attack from the much bigger wolf.

Sirius watched the two for a moment, trying to decide whose side the female wolf was on. He looked at James who took less than a second to jump into gear and slowly guide the shaken Lily out of harms way with his antlers.

Lily collapsed in front of the Hogwarts entrance. James quickly changed back into his human self and picked her up bridal style before running inside and to the hospital wing. Lily opened her eyes and looked up at her rescuer. She smiled briefly once she saw who it was and caressed his cheek gently before falling back under. She managed to whisper two words before passing out. "Help Ebony."

James handed her off to Madam Pomfrey. After assuring her that Lily had not gotten bit, he raced back outside to help Sirius break up any fight that was still going on.

* * *

Ebony yelped as Remus's teeth sank into her flank. She whirled around and slammed against him with her shoulder. Her cerulean eyes flicked toward the grim-like dog, almost begging for his help.

Sirius couldn't place the other lycanthrope and wasn't sure if he should help or not. The two had already been fighting for close to quarter of an hour and he knew the female was getting tired. _'James, where are you when I need you?'_

Remus finally knocked the other wolf off of her feet and on to her back. If this had been any other time, he would've growled and walked on, but this bitch cost him his prey. If he couldn't have the girl, he'd certainly have something else. He found a sick pleasure in the whimpers and yelps that he elicited from the female. He knew he could get her to submit. If he couldn't, he'd kill her. Simple.

Ebony snarled once again and lunged at her attacker. She knew that all it would take is for her to submit and it would all be over. She didn't know him and had no reason to submit, so let him kill her. She managed to get in another blow before she felt antlers pierce her side.

James had arrived just in time to see the she wolf attack Remus. His adrenaline flowed through his veins and an almost protective feeling came over him. He picked the perfect time and attacked the female fiercely, piercing her side with his antlers.

Remus growled at the stag but slowly calmed. Looking at the two canines and the bovine, he ran back toward the Whomping Willow, knowing the time. He at least wanted the shade of the underbrush to transform in. Sirius, looking at James, did his best to drag the unconscious female back toward the tree as well, hoping to at least shade her nudity from the prying eyes of the school once she was human again.

As the sun started to rise in the sky, Sirius finished dragging the female's body away from the group and ran back to his friends. James was already back in his human form and Remus was almost back to normal. In mid stride, Sirius was, once again, human.

The panting, naked Remus lay on the ground staring at the sky. All of a sudden, something dawned on him. "Why am I out here and not still chained in the Shrieking Shack?" He looked wildly at his friends, wanting an answer.

James and Sirius looked at each other for a minute, trying to come up with an answer. Sirius was the first to speak. "Moony, we're not sure. All's we know is that we were looking for the other wolf and heard a girl scream. We came out to find you standing over Lily…"

"I-I-I didn't hurt her, did I? I'll never forgive myself if I made her like me… James, I'm so sorry mate." Remus looked as if he were ready to cry.

James patted his shoulder gently. "Remember that wolf? She stopped you. She slammed into you and I got Lily inside. I think I heard her say Ebony was still out here though. I hope to Merlin that she's okay."

Sirius started toward the Whomping Willow's entrance. "Let's worry about that later. We need to find out what happened with Peter standing guard." They both followed him inside. Going in, they saw broken chains and a passed out rat like Peter.

The chains looked as if they had been broken through by an extremely strong creature. A small spot of blood on the wall and on the back of Peter's little rat head told the rest of the story. The chains broke. Peter tried to stop Remus and had been thrown against the wall for his efforts. This only made Remus feel worse. James picked up his unconscious friend and stuck him in his pocket.

Remus wanted to see who the wolf was. Once they walked out, Sirius had to think for a moment before they continued to the spot. As they neared it, it became apparent that the girl was no longer there. The spot where the girl had been laying was one giant pool of blood. There were drag marks from where the female had tried to get herself to safety.

Remus was the only one to continue on, leaving James and Remus to stare at the pool of blood. About 20 yards ahead, he saw the girl. She looked familiar but her onyx hair covered her face and her skin was crimson from blood. He swallowed his fear and stepped forward, ready to have to carry a dead body to Hogwarts.

His worries were dashed, however, when the girl emitted a small whimper and a sputtering cough at his touch. That's when he noticed the familiarity of the girl's scent, the feel of her silky hair at his touch. He almost whimpered himself when he turned her over and saw her face.

The girl opened her cerulean eyes and stared into the golden ones of her friend, Remus. Smiling despite herself, forgetting that she was naked, she whispered a single word. "Hello."

"You can't die on me, okay? We'll get you to the hospital wing. Just hold on, please." Remus's eyes filled with tears as he cradled the body of Ebony Masters.


	7. Chapter Six

**Under the Sapphire Moon  
**_By Rayven Darkheart_

**Author's Note: **I apologize for the lack of updates. College has been kicking my ass and I've had way too much homework to even contemplate writing.

Chapter Six

* * *

The doors to the hospital ward slammed open and in popped three boys, one of them carrying something. The dark haired boy with glasses was the first to speak. "Madam Pomfrey, we have a problem!"

The woman came running and stopped to look over Remus. "He looks fine to me Mister Potter. I see no problem."

"No ma'am, it's not me. It's her." Remus pulled a cloak off of what he was carrying and revealed Ebony in his arms. "She's a werewolf too. We didn't know and she was…"

Sirius finished for him. "She was protecting Lily from Remus. James didn't know who was attacking who and gored her. She's pretty hurt." He clapped Remus on the shoulder, noticing that his friend's gaze was stuck on Ebony's smooth, bloody face.

Madam Pomfrey clucked her tongue as she looked at the girl's face. "She'll be fine. She's a lycanthrope and heals. Mister Lupin, please put her on that first bed there. Thank you." She watched Remus move quickly toward the bed and set the unconscious girl down. "Good, now, I'll give her this potion and she can leave as soon as you do Mister Lupin. I want one of you boys to make sure she takes another dose three hours after tomorrow's sunset as well."

Sirius nodded his head slowly, as if taking the responsibility solely on himself. James, on the other hand, had other things on his mind. "Madam, how is Lily Evans?"

Madam Pomfrey looked up from administering the potion to Ebony's still body and gave James the ghost of a smile. "Miss Evans was fine. She was not bitten or scratched, just shaken up by the experience. It seems she sees our Miss Masters as her savior."

Remus sat down on the bed right beside Ebony and stroked her onyx hair away from her pale skin. "She's going to be okay, right?"

"That's what I said Mister Lupin. Now lie down and get some rest. You both need it." Madam Pomfrey started bustling about, getting together the ingredients to reverse a rather nasty case of the bat bogey hex. James and Sirius, taking the hint, walked out of the hospital wing.

As the door closed, it was met with Sirius's fist. "We almost got those two girls killed. What were we thinking, letting Wormtail watch Moony? How can a rat stop a wolf on a rampage? How bloody stupid are we?" He slammed his other fist into the door and growled deep in his throat.

James cleared his throat softly. _'Actually, it was me who almost got Ebony killed. We can only share the blame for Lily.' _"Well mate, at least they're both fine. We can only make sure this doesn't happen again. I'm sure we'll be able to keep the two of them safe now. Let's go find Evans and make sure she's okay."

As the two of them walked away, a figure stepped out of the shadows and laughed sadistically to himself. "Phase one complete. Next up, phase two."

* * *

Around three in the afternoon, cerulean eyes opened and stared at a stark white ceiling. _'How in the world did I get here?'_ She heard someone on the bed beside her shift and noticed that person's breathing quicken as they woke up from their slumber. Looking over, she saw Remus open his golden eyes and blushed despite herself.

Remus awoke slowly and immediately knew that the dark haired girl beside him was awake. He hesitated and then slowly opened his eyes, meeting hers. "Good afternoon, Miss Masters. It's nice… to see you."

Ebony nodded and turned her head. "Well, if you didn't know before, you know now, right? I fully expect the four of you to tell the school by this afternoon and I'll be out by this evening. Don't worry, I'm used to it."

"Ebony, what in the world are you talking about?" Ebony snapped her head around, surprised at Remus's tone on voice. "Why would I get you drummed out? I have the same problem you do. I can't believe you think my friends or I would sell you out."

She took a few moments to digest this new information. "You mean the wolf that I was protecting Lily from was…"

"Me." Remus looked at his hands, suddenly ashamed. "I don't know how you do it, but I don't have control of my mind under the influence of the moon."

Ebony started to say something else when the hospital wing's doors opened and Peter stepped in. His gray eyes widened at the sight of Ebony speaking to Remus but he gained his composure quickly. "Hey guys, what are you two doing?"

Cerulean orbs grew to practically the size of ping pong balls and Ebony whipped her head around to Peter. "Nothing, but I-uh, I have to go. See you two later." Ebony threw off the covers, thanking Merlin that Madam Pomfrey had sent one of her roommates back with some clothes and rushed out of the room.

Remus started to open his mouth to stop her, but his words froze in his throat. Peter shook his head clucking his tongue. "Girls, who can figure them out? What got into her?"

Remus shook his head slowly and settled back against his pillow, looking toward his friend and sighed. "I don't know, Peter. I really don't know."


	8. Chapter Seven

**Under the Sapphire Moon  
**_By Rayven Darkheart_

**Author's Note: **There, do you all forgive me now? Thank you for all that have stuck with me through the period of No-Updates.

Chapter Seven

* * *

On her way back to the Gryffindor dorms, she felt a hand snake around her bicep and pull her into the shadows. She cursed herself for not having her wand when she saw who owned the hand. It was none other than Lucius Malfoy. "Hello, Ebony is it? I've wanted to talk to you but I haven't gotten a chance. It's as if you disappeared off the Hogwarts grounds."

Her eyes widened a bit but she tried as hard as she could to keep a façade of indifference. "I've been busy, just like I am now. If you'll excuse me Lucius." She pushed away from the wall only to be slammed back by a strong hand.

Lucius gave her a wicked grin. "Why, have to go see your bookworm? Let me ask you something. Masters, that's an old name, is it not? One with a history rich in the dark arts? Your father was a legend here."

Ebony's cerulean eyes became as hard as diamonds as she looked into the gray eyes. "Not that my father is any of your concern Malfoy, but yes, he had a strong liking for the dark arts." She wrenched her arm away from him.

This time he let her. "Ah yes, and families that love the dark arts stick together, don't they? I'm surprised you aren't a member of the Slytherin house."

Staring hard at the much taller boy, she shrugged off his comment. "My father stopped for my mother. He had no aspirations of me becoming a dark witch, nor do I. Now if you will kindly excuse me, I have better things to do than stand here and be assaulted by your halitosis. Good day."

Lucius gazed after her retreating figure. _'I'll get her on our side one way or another. Even if I have to blackmail her, her and her soul shall belong to Lord Voldemort.'

* * *

_

Sirius jumped and was jolted awake from his dreamless slumber as the fat lady's portrait opened. He gazed over the back of the sofa to see Remus walk in sullenly. "Hey mate, nice to see you up and around again. James set your assignments on your bed."

Remus nodded his head and stood, staring out one of the windows before he regarded his friend. "Paddy, have you seen Ebony around? She ran out of the hospital wing earlier and, well, I wanted to make sure it wasn't because of me."

Sirius sat up finally and looked past his friend to the setting sun on the horizon. "No, but I do need to track her down to give her that potion of Pomfrey's. I just hope it doesn't turn her into a newt or something."

The ghost of a smile formed on Remus's lips. "Good luck with that one. She wasn't anywhere I looked, so maybe check the astronomy tower or down by the lake. She seemed happy enough down there last time."

A nod was all the confirmation Remus got that his friend heard from him before the shaggy haired boy ran out of the common room with a slam of the fat lady. A shadow of doubt crossed Remus's face. _'Maybe now wouldn't be the best time to talk to her. She always seems to get on with Sirius better anyway.'_ He then went toward his dormitory to find his assignments.

* * *

After looking down by the lake, Sirius settled on the astronomy tower. What he found made his pulse quicken for a split second before his more rational side kicked in. He responded to his surroundings in a flat, emotionless voice. "Wait, don't do it. You have so much to live for, Masters. Don't jump."

The girl winced, surprised to hear his voice. She replied in the same tone of voice from her seat on the edge of the windowsill. "But, but, our love is unrequited, Black. Whatever shall I do if the great Sirius Black does not love me?" She pressed the back of her left hand to her forehead and pretended to swoon before swinging her legs inside. "What's up, Sirius?"

Sirius tossed the bottle of potion to her. "You're supposed to take this before the sun sets. I guess to take away the soreness."

At his comments, her usually clear cerulean eyes clouded over with some emotion. She started to speak but when she found no words, she pulled the stopper out of the bottle and downed it in one gulp before tossing it back to her friend.

As he caught it, she swung her legs back over the edge and watched the horizon. The grief from her was so palpable, Sirius could almost feel it. "You know, no one cares about what you are. We still love and accept Remus."

Ebony shook her head slightly. "I don't care that you are fine with it, Sirius. I'm not! That's what matters. I've been a lycanthrope for as long as I can remember, and I can't accept it. I keep hoping there's a cure."

Sirius chuckled despite himself. "Ebony, you sound more like Moony everyday. You two need to spend less time together." He hefted himself up onto the sill next to her, watching the sunset. "It's not the end of the world, is it?"

"I keep hoping that it isn't, but now with the dark wizards rising to power, one never knows. Why were you and James out last night?" She smiled at the look of shock the Sirius immediately started to suppress. "I'm not stupid. There's no way two boys would be out with a werewolf unless they had a way around being attacked. Are you animagi?"

"Yeah, James was the one that broke the… fight up and I was the big black dog." He smiled at the light of mischief that suddenly appeared in her eyes. _'At least I can make her smile.'_

She snickered softly and hopped off of the sill before she spoke, as if ready to bolt. "I know what I'll get you for Christmas then."

Sirius stared at the girl wearily. "What?"

"A dog collar!" Ebony giggled and started to run but Sirius was too fast for her and tackled her against the floor, tickling her until she begged for mercy. He slowly stopped moving his fingers, but kept his hands firmly on her hips.

They stared into each others eyes. Cerulean met gray. Sirius leisurely moved closer to her and pressed his lips gently against hers. She gladly returned the kiss, keeping it soft and sweet. Neither of them noticed the pair of shocked eyes that beheld them as they parted.


End file.
